Jess Kiesel Lee, a 43-year-old resident of Kula, Maui, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for possessing explosive powder as a convicted felon. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake.
Court records show that Lee set off an improvised explosive device (IED), described as a homemade firework, near Kaamana Street in Kula on or before August 7, 2024. The Maui Police Department later found several IEDs at the scene, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discovered Lee’s fingerprint on one of them. Analysis by the FBI revealed that at least one device contained compounds consistent with explosive firework powder.
A month after the incident, the FBI searched Lee’s home and found small amounts of methamphetamine, firearms, ammunition, and additional IEDs containing flash powder—a common ingredient in fireworks. Lee admitted to knowingly possessing the explosive powder after previously being convicted of multiple felonies in Hawaii.
During sentencing, Judge Otake emphasized the risks posed by fireworks and noted that setting off a homemade firework near a wooded area endangered the community due to Maui’s vulnerability to wildfires.
U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson commented on the case: “The protection and safety of our community is our highest priority. We have witnessed the serious harm and life-threatening danger presented by the possession and use of illegal explosives in our local communities, including illegal fireworks. We pledge to aggressively investigate, charge, and convict those who unlawfully construct, possess, or detonate explosives and explosive materials. We credit our steadfast partners at the FBI for their outstanding investigative efforts in this case.”
FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter added: “Homemade explosive devices present a significant danger to our island communities. The FBI—in coordination with our law enforcement partners—is committed to using every tool available to hold criminals accountable when they threaten public safety.”
Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing any explosives that have been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce under 18 U.S.C. § 842(i)(1). The legal definition includes substances such as gunpowder, dynamite, blasting agents, detonators, smokeless powders, flash powder, and bulk salutes under 18 U.S.C. § 844(j) and related regulations.
The investigation involved collaboration between the Maui Police Department and the FBI with support from the FBI’s Laboratory Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan D. Slack and Wayne A. Myers prosecuted the case.